Race Not Shown As Reason For Traffic Stops

Letter to the Editor

The article "Race Affects Traffic Stops" [Oct. 12, Page 1], contains a glaring inaccuracy in the headline. The article details the fact that minority motorists are stopped and have their vehicles searched at a higher rate than white drivers, and assumes this is due to racially biased policing.

Crime rates, however, vary substantially by race. The overall homicide rate for blacks is approximately seven times higher than whites, for example. The assumption that unlawful behavior is the same overall regardless of race is unsupportable.

This makes it impossible to tell why black motorists had higher levels of law enforcement contact. It may be racial bias. It may be appropriate police action caused by higher rates of criminal behavior. It may be something else. All that can be said from the article is that there is an association between traffic stops and race. Nothing offered suggests in any way that one influences, is caused by, or affects the other.